2021 Selected Harvest Red, Adega de Pegoes

Velvet Sunset.

Rich, generous and effortlessly warming, the 2021 Selected Harvest Red is one of those bottles that feels made for the table. Ripe black cherry, damson and bramble fruit lead the way, layered with darker notes of cocoa, baking spice and a faint savoury edge that keeps everything grounded. There is real softness to the texture, but also enough structure to give the wine shape, making it feel plush rather than heavy. The palate is smooth and velvety, with concentrated red and black fruit, a touch of chocolate and a gentle herbal note that lingers through a long, easy finish. The blend is equal parts Aragonez, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Touriga Nacional, bottled at 14% ABV.

For when: roast dinners are on the table and nobody is in a hurry.
Pairs with: roast beef, mushroom dishes, hard cheeses, or grilled lamb.
If this wine were a place: a warm terrace at dusk, with the last of the sun on the sand and something slow-cooked in the kitchen.

Adega de Pegões is based in the Península de Setúbal, south of Lisbon.  The Pegões vineyard is located between two Nature Reserves: the Tagus estuary to the Northwest and the Sado to the Southwest. To the east are the Arrabida hills, and to the west the Alentejo province’s clays. The unique soil here is named “Pliocenico de Pegões”. It is a sandy soil formed over millions of years by sand transported by the rivers Tagus and Sado. It is this Mediterranean climate and soil combination that creates this unique Pegões terroir.